The Complete Collected Poems

Description

Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longings, partings; of Saturday night partying and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams. Of her poetry, Kirkus Reviews has written, 'It is just as much a part of her autobiography as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, and The Heart of a Woman'.show more

Review quote

A brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman -- President Barack Obama The poems and stories she wrote ... were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and grace -- President Bill Clinton She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace ... She will always be the rainbow in my clouds -- Oprah Winfrey She was important in so many ways. She launched African American women writing in the United States. She was generous to a fault. She had nineteen talents - used ten. And was a real original. There is no duplicate -- Toni Morrison It is true poetry she is writing... It has an innate purity about it, unquenchable dignity M.F.K Fisher Maya Angelou liberates and exhilarates through her magical, lyrical, mystical medium - poetry MARY BRYCE, TRIBUNE The best known poet in America SUNDAY TELEGRAPHshow more

About Maya Angelou

Dr Maya Angelou was one of the world's most important writers and activists. Born 4 April 1928, she lived and chronicled an extraordinary life: rising from poverty, violence and racism, she became a renowned author, poet, playwright, civil rights' activist - working with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King - and memoirist. She wrote and performed a poem, 'On the Pulse of Morning', for President Clinton on his inauguration; she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama and was honoured by more than seventy universities throughout the world. She first thrilled the world with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). This was followed by six volumes of autobiography, the seventh and final volume, Mom & Me & Mom, published in 2013. She wrote three collections of essays; many volumes of poetry, including His Day is Done, a tribute to Nelson Mandela; and two cookbooks. She had a lifetime appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University of North Carolina. Dr Angelou died on 28 May 2014.show more